Manganese Bronze Holdings - manufacturer of the London black taxi - is back in the black after a two year restructuring programme.

The company yesterday posted pre-tax profits of £100,000 for the six months to January 31, compared with the previous loss of £2 million.

Turnover was down, from £42.4 million to £41.3 million. However, net borrowings at £1.8 million were significantly below the previous year's figure of £ 5.1 million. The interim dividend payment is maintained at 1p.

Chief executive Ian Pickering told shareholders: "We have sold our loss making businesses, signed a license agreement with ComCab to remove our exposure to Zingo losses and undertaken several value enhancing property transactions."

He added: "Manganese Bronze is now purely focused on improving the profitability of our core UK taxi operations and pursuing our strategy of international expansion.

"Orders for new taxis in the first few weeks of the second half have been satisfactory.

"We are hopeful that the outcome of the second limited review of the Conditions of Fitness will lift the uncertainty affecting the taxi trade and have a positive impact on taxi sales in the coming months."

The Public Carriage Office is currently carrying out a second limited review of the London Conditions of Fitness, the regulations designed to ensure high standards for London's taxis. An announcement of the outcome is expected in the next few weeks.

Manganese Bronze, which makes the LTI black taxi at Coventry, announced last November that it had signed an exclusive 20-year licensing arrangement with Computer Cab, part of Singapore-based transport group Comfort Delgro, for a nominal £1.

In exchange for signing over the operations and most of the assets of Zingo - its lossmaking mobile phone cab hailing system - to ComCab, Manganese will get 50 per cent of any future profits from operations in London and the Home Counties.

Manganese Bronze yesterday said that UK sales of LTI had increased by three per cent to 1,108 vehicles, adding that higher sales in the core London market had been partially offset by slower sales in regional markets.

The group also said that exports of taxis were affected by the dollar's exchange rate, which led to lower sales to North America, causing a reduction in overall exports.

Manganese Bronze is working closely with the China National Bluestar Corporation in a bid to secure a license from the Chinese government, enabling it to form a joint venture with Bluestar to manufacture and sell taxis in China.